Fuel crisis: Anthony Albanese scraps heavy vehicle road user charge for three months amid Iran war pressure

Australia’s commercial transport and logistics sector will be targeted in a suite of measures announced by the Federal Government to combat the fuel volatility sparked by the Iran war.

Anthony Albanese on Monday said the heavy vehicle road user charge will be reduced to zero across the next three months to help the fuel-reliant industry.

“Our government will reduce the heavy vehicle road user charge to zero for three months to help truckies continue their vital work for our nation,” the PM said.

“In addition to that, we’ve deferred the next scheduled increase in the heavy vehicle road user charge by six months.

“We understand in particular that the heavy vehicle industry is under real pressure.”

The Prime Minister said that, as heavy vehicle registration is linked to state and territories, he raised the truckie support with leaders during their morning virtual National Cabinet meeting.

Truckies will also benefit from a halving of the fuel excise, which the PM announced on Monday to lower the tax 26.3 cents per litre for three months.

It comes, however, as trucks are already parking up as the fuel crisis deepens across Australia — with the transport industry calling for Covid-era measures to save it from total collapse.

National Road Transport Association boss Warren Clark has called for the government to also bring back a moratorium on heavy vehicle finance repayments as truckies struggle to pay their mounting bills.

Mr Clark said putting a pause on debt could help relieve the financial pressures on small businesses amid a looming shutdown of freight firms nationwide.

“The current pace and scale of fuel price increases, driven by global conflict, is unlike anything the industry has faced before,” he said.

“Operators are paying for fuel upfront at record prices, but it can take weeks or months to recover those costs through contracts.

“For small businesses, which make up the vast majority of the industry, that gap is unsustainable.

“That’s why we are calling for urgent, practical action - including a six-month moratorium on heavy vehicle finance repayments.

“This is a proven, COVID-era measure that would give operators immediate breathing space at no cost to government, helping viable businesses survive this temporary but severe shock.”

Transport Minister Catherine King had also introduced changes to the Fair Work Act last Thursday to allow transport operators to rapidly renegotiate contracts, enabling fairer distribution of fuel spikes across the supply chain.

The bill to assist the trucking industry passed the Senate on Monday afternoon unamended.